Press Release

Welch to Dhillon: “For nearly 70 years, the Civil Rights Division has enforced federal statutes that protect Americans’ right to vote. Your leadership represents a marked departure from that tradition.” WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) , Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on The Constitution , this week delivered a scathing criticism of Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Harmeet Dhillon’s leadership of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division for pushing the mass collection of sensitive and private voter data. Senator Welch emphasized that statements and actions by AAG Dhillon and others in her Division—especially as we approach the 2026 midterm elections—risk disenfranchising eligible voters and are contrary to the Civil Rights Division’s statutory mandate to ensure all Americans can freely vote. In his letter , Senator Welch highlighted the dangers of new policy directives issued under AG Dhillon: “Recent requests for voter data by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division raise serious concerns about the Department’s efforts to undermine future elections.  Soon after being confirmed to lead the Civil Rights Division, you issued a new policy directive to the Division’s Voting Section, directing staff to help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) obtain voter database information from states—purportedly to identify ineligible voters. Following this policy directive, the Civil Rights Division has asked states for full access to their voter rolls, including sensitive and private information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and dates of birth.” Senator Welch continued: “The pursuit of this data raises two important concerns. First, the Department does not have the statutory authority to request this information. Second, the efforts to obtain this information will undermine electoral integrity, not protect it. States led by both Republicans and Democrats have appropriately rejected the Department’s request for its voter rolls, citing privacy concerns and potential violations of state and federal law. So far, your Division has filed lawsuits against 30 such states, as well as the District of Columbia. Every court that has reviewed these cases on the merits has dismissed the Division’s claims.” Senator Welch underscored how AG Dhillon’s statements have furthered false narratives to justify the collection of voter data and discredit recent elections: “On January 6, 2026, you justified the collection and review of states’ ‘voter rolls [as] essential to ensuring that American citizens’ votes count only once, and only with other eligible voters[.]’ The mass collection and verification of American voters’ eligibility—with outdated, inaccurate information—risks eliminating eligible voters from state voter rolls. DOJ attorneys have confirmed both in court and in internal communications that the Division intends to run states’ voter roll data against DHS’ ‘SAVE database’ to verify voters’ citizenship status. This database is estimated to falsely flag voters as noncitizens at least 14% of the time. . . . Some states have complied with your requests for data. The Civil Rights Division now houses the personal information of tens of millions of Americans, which it has begun disclosing to DHS, as well as private contractors.” “Your own statements have furthered false narratives to justify the collection of voter data. Last month, you stated that the Division has found ‘tens of thousands of non-citizens on the voter rolls.’ Voting by non-citizens is a widely debunked claim. In an audit carried out by the Michigan Department of State, just 0.00028% of voters in the 2024 general election were found to be noncitizens. You have provided no evidence to support your claims,” continued Senator Welch . “Under your leadership, the Civil Rights Division has also moved to discredit recent elections. On April 14, 2026, you made the highly irregular demand for ballots from the 2024 election from Detroit. The request was based on three allegations of voter fraud that occurred in the 2020 election—out of 878,10221 votes cast—and a prior lawsuit alleging that absentee ballots were not properly processed in that election. A judge previously dismissed that lawsuit on the grounds that the allegations were ‘not credible.’” Senator Welch requested detailed answers from Assistant AG Dhillon on the following questions in order to better understand the work being carried out by the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division: Please provide a list of contractors that the Civil Rights Division is disclosing voter data to. Have any officials within the Division communicated with any outside groups or individuals in relation to voter data requests or analysis? If so, please list the names of these entities and provide records of any agreements with these entities. Please provide copies of any analyses DOJ has conducted using voter data, as well as an explanation of any methodology used. What work has the Civil Rights Division undertaken to attempt to enforce Executive Orders 14248 and 14399? Please provide the evidence to support your statement that the Civil Rights Division has found “tens-of thousands of non-citizens on the voter rolls.” Read and download Senator Welch’s full letter to Assistant AG Dhillon. Senator Welch has been a leading voice in pushing back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on the rule of law and efforts to undermine the Civil Rights Division. In January, Senator Welch criticized Assistant AG Dhillon for the creation of a new ‘Second Amendment Section’ at the Division as a major departure from its long-standing mission of protecting Americans from discrimination in favor of advancing President Trump’s agenda. Senator Welch has called for answers on Assistant AG Dhillon’s weaponization of the Civil Rights Division, including directing sections to pursue President Trump’s policy and political goals, and denounced the Administration’s plans to freeze all new civil rights cases or investigations at the Division. The Senator also led all six of his Democratic colleagues on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Constitution Subcommittee in demanding answers from DOJ concerning the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Division. During President Trump’s first week in office, Senator Welch slammed the President’s plans to freeze all new civil rights cases or investigations at the Civil Rights Division. ###